For nearly two years, a California teacher hid a boy who had been reported missing at age 15, authorities allege.
Sacramento public school teacher Holga Castillo Olivares, 61, is accused of concealing the fact that the teenager was staying at her home despite a report that the boy was missing since the spring of 2020.
The boy’s guardian, Katte Smith, said that on 18 May 2020, the child – 15 at the time – left his family home after a heated argument about house rules. “He felt like the grass was greener on the other side,” Smith said to KCRA, a local news affiliate.
The family later filed a missing persons report on 9 June but was unable to find the boy for nearly two years. In the time that the boy was missing, police interviewed his family and friends, including Olivares, but they also could not find him.
Then, on 11 March this year, the boy reappeared at the family home, asking to move back in. He told Smith he had been staying at the home of Olivares, who is the mother of one of his friends.
Smith described feeling “robbed” of time with the missing boy.
“You can’t just hide someone’s kid and think that’s OK,” Smith said to KCRA.
Olivares was charged last Thursday with detaining a minor with the intent to conceal from a parent – a felony – and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
She was being held without bond and was expected to make a court appearance on Monday afternoon.
The Sacramento city unified school district released a statement confirming that Olivares is a district employee.
“The charges filed are for acts unrelated to the employee’s assigned duties,” the statement read in part.
The school district added that Olivares has been placed on administrative leave while the district conducts its own investigation into her alleged actions.
